


Business as Usual

by schroedingersabsurdism



Series: Approaching Euphoria [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 06:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11307789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schroedingersabsurdism/pseuds/schroedingersabsurdism
Summary: School sucks. Dick pics from your 'fans' suck. Having no friends sucks. Yeah, definitely a fun time as a 'young adult'.At least the IT specialist of your dad's rival company is hot.





	1. Chapter 1

_You- Ttong-uibil-eomeog-eul jogag!_ Hana’s slim fingers tightened around her phone before slamming it against the armrest of the leather chair in which she had been reclining. She huffed and slapped a hand over her eyes, willing the unsolicited nude picture to be burned from her memory. Honestly, her day had already been shit ( _ttong_ ) ever since she was forced awake by her very grumpy adoptive father because _it’s Monday, and you have morning classes, so get your ass in gear, kiddo_ followed quickly by _for Christ’s sake, Hana, did you even sleep last night?!_

 _Yes_ , actually, she _had_ slept. It was only for two hours, but it was sleep, _daedanhi gamsahabnida_. But she was nineteen anyway, so why was Jack treating her like a kid? _Because you are one. Now come on, move._

But classes were boring and lent Hana more time to think about how she _isn’t_ in _Busan_ anymore, and her parents are- who even knows? And now she’s in America, alone and unhappy. Granted, some of that loneliness was probably self-inflicted – she approached people just about never, and no one approached her in return.

Online streaming was much more fun. A niche in the _StarCraft II_ community is a good ego boost, but it also helps remind her that she’s _good_ at something. She can micro-manage like a boss with APM through the roof, she has a competitive drive but knows a great match when she has one, and loves interacting with her fans.

 _Well, most of the time._ Hana groaned aloud at the thought of that disgusting picture still being there, on _her_ phone. Worse, she was pretty sure he’s under-aged, which would make everything worse if the interaction was ever thrown to the mercy of the internet. Donations are a powerful source of income that can be shattered the moment Bad Press looms its ugly face.

 _Maybe it was a mistake to become a gamer_ , she thought sarcastically, finally removing her hand from her face. The ceiling was a stark white dotted with harsh fluorescent lights. Across from her, in the fairly small room, was a simple grey desk with a nameplate reading _Security_. Thus, naturally, the chair was not, in fact, hosting the so-called ‘security’ and had been empty since Hana awkwardly let herself in.

She eyed the clock on the wall behind the desk. 4:47 PM. _Geez, Dad. So much for being done at four..._ Jah jin nah. She rolled her eyes and sat up. The steely silence was discomforting, to say the least, and she sorely regretted leaving her 3DS and headphones at home in her rush to get to school. Hana reached down and pulled her small, pink backpack on her lap, unzipping the smallest pouch. She pulled out a small thing of gum and popped the lid off only to see it was empty. With a pout and sigh, she threw (and landed!) the empty box into the trash and dropped her backpack dejectedly.

Hana leaned her arm against the empty armrest and grabbed her phone, twisting herself to hang her feet off the other side of the leather chair. She hummed and unlocked her phone, only to throw herself off the chair and jump in disgust. “ _Bil-eo meog-eul jiog_!” she swore as her phone hit the ground. She had forgotten to close out of the _fucking picture_. “Ugh!” She backed away and shook her head, pacing to the empty guard’s desk.

“What am I going to do?” she mumbled under her breath, crossing her arms. “Ugh. GG to me.” She inflated her cheeks before turning on her heel, stomping over, and swiping her phone off the ground. She turned again to pace back to the desk and took a step.

 _Thump._ Hana squeaked and jumped back, hitting the back of her knees against the chair and involuntarily sitting down. At her feet was a woman appearing shocked, knocked down on the floor from the hit. _Eh?_ She hadn’t even heard her walk in. Damn it! Hana put her hands to her mouth and gaped, then quickly hopped up and leaned down.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so, so sorry!” she blabbered, grabbing the stranger’s hand. She noticed the woman had long, purple nails, impeccably shaped and both beautiful and intimidating. Also very odd.

“Ow,” the woman muttered with a low, almost sultry voice, raising an eyebrow as Hana pulled her up. She exaggeratedly brushed herself off. “You should watch where you’re going, _chica_.” Hana pouted, but bowed her head some.

“I’m really sorry. I wasn't looking. I’m not usually so stressed out.” The stranger gave her a look, then let out a low chuckle and shrugged.

“Eh, _es como sea_. It’s whatever.” She waved a manicured hand. “But what’s got you so stressed out that you’re knocking random strangers to the floor?” Hana pouted again and finally looked the stranger in the eye. The two were roughly the same height, though the woman’s sharp eyebrows, dark eyes, and flawless makeup made Hana feel much smaller.

 _Well,_ Hana thought, taking in the woman’s half-shaved, thick brown hair, dyed purple at the end to match her nails, silver gauges, and distinct beauty mark by her left eye, _she’s really fucking hot._

“Oh!” she replied after realising the incredibly gorgeous woman was casually waiting for a response. “Um, uh, well...” She averted her eyes. “It’s silly, really. Dumb actually.” The stranger simply hummed in response, and Hana felt prompted to continue. “Um, okay, well, I stream. Online. Like video games. That’s, like, my ‘job’ right now. I have a bunch of fans, and I love them all! Really. It’s just sometimes they send me dumb jokes... or inappropriate pictures.”

The mysterious woman stared silently, appearing to digest the information. She crossed her arms and leaned back on one leg, raising both eyebrows. Hana felt completely and utterly judged, to say the very least, under the woman’s intense gaze. After about thirty seconds, the woman finally replied,

“You’re freaking out over a dick pic?” Hana sputtered as the stranger began laughing throatily.

“Hey! It’s not funny!”

“No, you’re right. It’s _hilarious_.”

“Shut up!” On impulse, Hana’s hand shot out, and she squarely punched the stranger in the shoulder.

“Hey, ow!” she cried, still laughing. She rubbed at her shoulder as Hana stood in shock, gaping at her own action. “Man, first you knock me on my ass, then you punch me? Haven’t you heard? First impressions are most important.”

“You laughed at me!” Hana defended, pouting and crossing her arms. The woman shook her head as her laughter died out, though she was still smiling.

“ _Lo siento_ ,” she drawled. “It’s just... a dick pic? Really? You look like you’re sixteen.”

“I’m nineteen!” Hana yelled, rolling her eyes. The woman put her hands up in mock surrender, smirking.

“All right, all right, _calmate, chica_. But really,” the woman cocked her head, “You stream? For a living? At nineteen?” Hana nodded. “That’s impressive. You must be getting pretty popular to be getting dick pics.”

“Oh, this isn’t my first one,” Hana replied, shuddering at the memory of past experiences. “And it’s not just pictures of dicks.” The woman frowned and tapped her chin with one of her long nails.

“ _Qué horrible._ You seem traumatised.” Hana opened her mouth, but the stranger continued. “I was going to get some dinner. Want to come with? We can talk about your illustrious streaming career, including the mountain of inappropriate pictures you apparently have burned in your brain.” With that, she reached out and tapped Hana’s forehead, then her nose, saying, “Boop!”

Hana blinked rapidly. _Processing... Objective: walk to Dad’s work so he can bring me home. New quest: get dinner with a hot, potentially dangerous stranger??_ Seeing Hana’s confusion, the stranger backed off a bit.

“Let me introduce myself first. I’m Sombra, the IT specialist here at Talon.” She stuck out her hand, and Hana realised she was shaking it only after she heard herself reply.

“Hana Song. Jack Morrison is my dad.” Sombra’s eyebrows shot up, and she retracted her hand to cross her arms again.

“The nineteen-year-old daughter of _the_ Jack Morrison who also happens to be a famous video game streamer? _Guau._ ” Hana smirked and crossed her own arms.

“An IT specialist working at _the_ Talon who also happens to be as beautiful as she is smart? _Wau_.” For the first time, Sombra appeared genuinely taken aback, silently contemplating the snarky compliment. In her own contemplating, Hana was freaking out.

 _Did I just say that?! Where did that come from?! What the hell?! Sesang-e!_ Finally, Sombra laughed and relaxed, gently grabbing Hana’s elbow.

“Well, well, _conejita_. It seems we _definitely_ have to have dinner now. My treat.” And with one gentle tug, Hana found herself following the extremely attractive, smooth-talking IT specialist out the heavy glass doors and out onto the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 똥의 빌어 먹을 조각! (Ttong-ui bil-eo meog-eul jogag!) - Fucking piece of shit!  
> (똥) (ttong) - (shit)  
> 대단히 감사합니다. (daedanhi gamsahabnida.) - thank you very much.  
> 빌어 먹을 지옥! (Bil-eo meog-eul jiog!) - Fucking hell!  
> 와우. (Wau.) - Wow.  
> 세상에! (Sesang-e!) - Oh my god!
> 
> chica - girl  
> es como sea - it's what it is  
> Lo siento - sorry  
> calmate, chica - calm down, girl  
> Qué horrible. - How horrible.  
> Guau. - Wow.  
> conejita - 'little rabbit'/'bunny girl' (Google Translate for the latter) (conejo in Spanish is rabbit, and changing the -o suffix to an -ita indicates some more of a feminine pet name)


	2. Chapter 2

The air felt cooler from the earlier midday heat, Hana noted, relieved. A light breeze made her realise her shirt had ridden up, and she pulled it back down. The parking lot was fairly sparse, as it appeared few workers wanted to stay until closing.

“Do you like pizza?” Sombra asked, startling Hana. She turned around to see Sombra taking her questioning-and-sometimes-judgemental pose again. In the brighter light, Hana took the time to actually assess Sombra’s work outfit. She wore a simple, dark purple blouse tucked into a black leather skirt stopping just above her knees. Geunyeoui nun-eul bwa, bil-eo meog-eul, Hana chastised herself. “I’m not a big fan of fast food, but pizza is okay.”

“Yeah, sure,” Hana replied distractedly. A pair of pink leggings covered Sombra’s thin legs, and they showed off her nicely defined calves. “Dad and I just moved here, so I don’t know the area, though.”

“It’s just down the street. Let’s walk there, ¿ _sí_?” Sombra gestured, and Hana followed her finger. The street was crowded with cars, and the small stores nearby seemed filled to the brim with people. Nevertheless, she shrugged and nodded, and Sombra hummed in delight and began to lead the two down the sidewalk.

“I didn’t know señor Jack Morrison had a daughter,” began Sombra, glancing over at the young gamer. Hana flinched.

“It’s a, uh, ‘recent development’,” she replied somewhat shakily, a sharp contrast to her earlier zest. Sombra quickly nodded.

“No need to elaborate further. I understand.” Hana offered a small smile. “Okay, let’s try something else: gamer? For how long? It seems long enough to have a... ‘unique’ fanbase.” Hana grinned sheepishly.

“My entire life, really,” Hana replied, laughing. She looked enthusiastically to Sombra. “My first video game was _16-bit Hero_. Ever hear of it?” Sombra chuckled and shook her head. “It’s a game for the _Syupeo Keomboi_ – sorry, that’s the SNES in America – by Bandai that came out in 1992. It’s a really short game ‘cause, you know, old 16-bit games, but it’s a first-person shooter. The main character doesn’t really have a name, but kind of looks like Jim Raynor from _StarCraft II_ , another game I love... Anyway, so, in _16-bit Hero_ , you have a machine gun, which means the DPS-” Hana cut herself off after she realised how quickly she had begun talking. “Um.”

Avoiding eye contact with Sombra (ugh, _wae_ ), she swallowed. “Uh. Well, I’ve played my entire life. And now I play professionally, and people give me donations.” Her face was burning with an indescribable burning. What a ramblefest.

“How did you get to ‘professional’?” Sombra pressed. “And when?” Hana internally groaned. Jenjang _. Why is talking so hard?_

“Well, the game I mentioned, _StarCraft II_? I always played the _StarCraft_ series.” Unbeknownst to her, she began rushing her words again in excitement. “They came out in 1998, and one of the expansions is called _Brood War_ , and it’s very popular back home. It’s been called the most successful e-sport in the world. So I was always in that scene, and I’ve always been pretty good, but I was too young to actually compete for real money. [Red]NaDa won $200,000 in 2005! _Mid-eul su issni_?

“I started getting really serious when I was twelve, thirteen, which is also right when _StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty_ came out. That‘s when _StarCraft_ as an e-sport got _really_ huge, and I was always able to stay as number one, or, at least, in the top five players, for the next three years, easy, and then I started just getting donations from fans and have competed in tournaments for money. Now I’m un-defeated and have been for since I was sixteen.

“So, uh, I guess the answer is I ‘got to professional’ by constantly playing, although _appa_ says I’ve always had a natural talent or something, and I got ‘professional’, um, I guess when I was fifteen. So it’s been four years.” Hana finally stopped, feeling her face burning at the (technically) solicited info dump and kept her eyes at the ground. Sombra beside her was silent, slowly digesting the information. To her credit, she didn’t seem weirded out, at least.

“Wow,” Sombra finally said, and Hana covered her cheeks to hide her burning cheeks. “I was not expecting all of that.” Hana let out a little whine as Sombra chuckled. “You really love video games, huh?”

“Like I said, it’s kind of my job,” Hana mumbled. “I play to win.”

“I like it. You’re passionate and knowledgeable and clearly resourceful to be able to have so many people wrapped around your little finger, hm?” Hana rolled her eyes.

“I talked about myself way too much,” she interrupted. “Your turn.” Sombra _tsk_ ’d.

“Oh, all right. I was a freelance programmer before I joined Talon maybe half a year ago.”

“What did you program?” Sombra shrugged.

“Commissions. People would ask for something banal like a website, and I’d help them out. I’ve helped with some video games, too.” Hana resisted the urge to perk up with mild success, maybe.

“You’ve made video games?” Sombra shrugged again.

“A little, but I mainly was used for de-bugging and closing up any... holes in the program.” With no response from Hana, she continued. “I worked to make it unhack-able, basically.”

“Un-hackable?” Hana tiled her head. “You’re a hacker?”

“...in my off-time, yes. But!” She tapped Hana’s nose before the younger girl could go off. “I don’t hack games. The only time I hacked them was to help the main programmers increase their security.” Hana huffed.

“Okay, fine. You’re using your powers for good instead of evil.” Sombra let out low chuckle, and Hana felt herself blushing again - or maybe just harder. After all, she probably never stopped. Jenjang segsihan yeoja, she grumbled to herself.

“As you say, _conejita_.” She suddenly stopped and gently grasped Hana’s bicep. “ _Estamos aquí_.” Hana looked up to find herself at glass door. Inside was a large, brick oven against the far wall, sectioned off by a long table full of little trays of various pizza toppings.

“Allow me,” Sombra said, and Hana jumped back. The older woman reached around and pulled open the door. She winked cheekily and indicated Hana to go inside. The interior smelt strongly of (surprise, surprise) cheese and tomato, though not overwhelmingly so. A person in a red shirt behind the counter greeted the two, and Hana almost sighed in relief when it seemed he did not recognise her.

 _I really can’t deal with fans_ and _a sexy stranger suddenly bringing me to a pizza place I’ve never heard of._

Sombra moved around her and led them up to a large menu plastered on the wall. “What did you want?” she asked, glancing at the sign with evident disinterest.

“Uh...” Hana’s eyes scanned the multitudinous words, jumping from one option to the next. “The Calexico looks good,” she finally managed to offer. Sombra perked up.

“You like spicy, ¿ _chica_?” Hana raised her eyebrows.

“I’m from _Namhan_. I was _raised_ on spicy.” Sombra chuckled and led them to the cash register.

“Two _Calexicos_ , please,” she ordered. Hana gave her a look, and Sombra winked at her. “I brought you here. Dinner is on me, ¿ _comprende_?” Hana scoffed.

“ _Gamsahabnida_. Thank you. But next time, _I’m_ paying.” Sombra raised _her_ eyebrows.

“‘Next time’?”

 _...tttong_.

“That’ll be $14.06, please,” the cashier chirped, ruining the moment (to Hana’s... delight? Sadness?). Sombra flashed Hana a cheeky smiled and handed the cashier her card.

“I’m going to find a table,” Hana grumbled before walking off, not even hearing Sombra‘s reply. She breathed a sigh of relief when she caught a couple leaving an outside table and hurried to sit down at it. Stretching out, she yawned.

 _I’m so bad at flirting._ She paused, then frowned. _Wait,_ am _I even flirting?_ Actually, she noted, it was absolutely shocking she was even talking to a stranger let alone conversing with a stranger let alone flirting with a stranger. She didn’t even make an effort to reach out to her classmates. It was pretty hard being an international superstar at a new school ­– would people want to be genuinely be her friends or did they want a shot at being the new face of _StarCraft II_?

 _Not that they’d be able to beat me anyway._ Pros and cons of being so high-profile. She already had a few classmates go up to her and ask for autographs or something, and she was happy to please! (After all, her fan base was how she was able to afford rent.) (Sorry Dad, but Hana Song was going to be independent.) (More like she _had_ to be. It was proving to herself that she was an adult and she could get on in the world despite being nineteen with video gaming as her only real talent-)

_Whoa. Not going there._

“I bring drinks, napkins, and more hot sauce.” Sombra’s smooth voice interrupted Hana’s trainwreck of a thought process, and she smiled when the woman sat down gracefully and arranged the assortment of items on the table.

“ _Gamsa_ ,” Hana replied. Sombra grinned and sat back. The two lapsed in silence, but, Hana noted, it was a comfortable silence. It was relaxing, a moment to breathe in between heavy, almost hectic conversations leading to a fast relationship of sorts. Of course, she had to resist the urge to just ask question after question that would lead nowhere ( _why did you want to do this?_ , _who really are you?_ , _why are you so damn attractive?_ ), but as long as she actually _did_ resist the urge, it was all good.

“So,” Sombra finally ventured. Hana thought her dark eyes were poetically fitting, adding to Sombra’s look, and it was only then she noted the gap in her eyebrow. She couldn’t discern any noticeable scar and lightly wondered if Sombra did it on purpose. Dork.

“How long have you been in America?” She eyed Hana cautiously, and Hana, feeling the weight the simple question carried, willed herself not to tense up.

“I got here few weeks before school started,” she answered slowly. Sombra nodded encouragingly, but Hana stopped, feeling her level of comfort decrease rapidly. She prayed it didn’t reflect on her face, but she knew it was fruitless – even if it wasn’t visible, it seemed to settle around her like some sort of aura.

“What about you?” she returned. Sombra gave her a smile, and suddenly they were in the same sorts of feelings of haunting pasts and deep secrets and... how was it said? ‘Skeletons in closets’? Whatever. The metaphors were over-dramatic.

“I only moved here when Gabriel hired me to work for Talon.”

“What do you do there?” She realised Sombra told her what she _used_ to do, but not her current occupation.

“Same as before, but now I’m being paid regularly.”

“What do you program?”

“Nothing as fun as before – just programs to optimise business with calculating cost-benefit analyses and blah blah blah. Honestly, I fall asleep just explaining it to people.” Hana raised her eyebrows. _...at a military weapons business?_ “It’s classified,” Sombra added teasingly. Suddenly the weight was lifted. “What else do you do for fun? You must need a break from gaming.” Hana shrugged.

“Honestly? Not much. My life right now is just school and homework and my job,” she answered. Sombra hummed.

“ _Merida_ ,” she mused. “I’m just asking all the wrong questions today, aren’t I? _Lo silent_ , _conejita_.”

“What? No, it’s fine, really!” Hana rushed out. “I, uh, just have a lot of baggage. I’m sorry.” Sombra laughed.

“Don’t apologise for what’s happened.” She abruptly turned and stood up. “Ah, our food’s ready. We were too distracted by each other.” She winked, and Hana rolled her eyes, her cheeks still a rosy pink. “I’ll get it.” Hana watched her go and swore internally.

Jinsim-eulo _?_ Fifteen minutes of easy questions, and she can’t be normal enough to answer them _without_ Sombra feeling guilty? Boy, that’s a way to start a friendship.

Within seconds, a pizza appeared in front of Hana, and she beamed at Sombra. “This looks delicious! Thank you for bringing me.”

“ _No es problema_ ,” Sombra replied, waving off the comment. “Let’s just eat and enjoy ourselves.” Hana hummed happily, adding some more hot sauce, and the two lapsed into a comfortable silence again. Hana had to give it to her – Sombra had great taste in restaurants _and_ pizza. This place was probably going to be her new favourite food place until Sombra blew her mind again.

Sometime later, both women leaned back with full bellies. Hana stared at Sombra with a relaxed, genuinely happy smile. All teasing and sly remarks aside, it was just... nice. Maybe not perfect – that was pretty damn hard to achieve, and they literally just met. But it was nice. It felt good to just be in the company of someone who seemed genuinely interested in her as a person and to just some eat tasty food and just talk.

It felt, she realised, to just feel normal.

Sombra stared back with an equally warm smile. The ‘sparks’ between them settled into something that felt like a nice fire or cozying up to each other just to feel the other person or plainly growing feelings.

 _Dangerous feelings_. Hana tried to break from her reverie, but she was pretty hooked, and that made her more panicky under the blanketing calmness. They were going too quickly, and these feelings were developing too quickly, and–

But she had to admit it felt so good.

 _I don’t freaking know_ , she finally decided. Jegilal _. I’ll never know if I don’t try._ It’d hurt like a bitch if it didn’t work out, but she was pretty confident she could throw herself into her work as a coping mechanism if it came to that.

 _No. This is good. I’ll go with it._ On cue, as if impatiently waiting until she sorted herself out, her phone vibrated, and Hana jumped. Absentmindedly, she pulled it out and glanced at the time.

O ssibai _!_ Her eyes widened when she saw the time. 5:49 PM. Her breathing almost stopped when she saw the text.

 _Where are you?_ was all it read. Hana groaned and shoved her phone in her pocket.

“¿ _Qué sucede_?” Sombra seemed alarmed.

“ _Jeongmal mianhae_ ,” Hana replied apologetically, shaking her head. “We have to go. Dad’s super mad at me for not being there.” Like Hana, Sombra’s eyes widened.

“ _Mierda_ , how long have we been here?” The two simultaneously collected their belongings and rushed to throw away their leftovers.

“It’s almost six.” Sombra swore again, pulling Hana with her.

“I’m so fucking sorry. _Mierda_.”

“No, it’s my fault too.” They jogged back to the office. “This has been incredible, really. Totally lost track of time!”

“‘Incredible’? ‘Lost track of time’? Ay, _conejita_ , you flatter me.” Hana giggled, momentarily distracting herself from what was probably going to be a painful interrogation.

Once they reached the edge of the parking lot, Sombra slowed to a walk, and Hana matched her pace. The older woman stopped near a larger van and a few motorbike parking spots and smiled.

“Well, _chica_ , this is where I have to leave you. Thanks for getting dinner with me.“

“Thanks for inviting me,” Hana replied. “And I’m serious about a next time. Do you work here every day?” Sombra nodded.

“Nine to five weekdays. But isn’t Talon a little far for you?” Hana shrugged.

“It’s only an hour on the bus.” Sombra _tsk_ ’d.

“Why don’t we just meet up somewhere else next time? Maybe I can have time to change out of my work clothes.”

“Why bother?” Hana teased, suppressing the absolute shock at her pulling off a smooth line. Sombra raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

“Give me your phone.” Hana smiled and handed it over after a quick unlock, glancing at the time. 5:56 PM. _Not bad_

“Text me tonight,” said Sombra, typing away at the screen. She handed the device back, though Hana thought she looked a bit distracted. “Let’s hang out more often.”

“Definitely!“ On impulse, Hana wrapped her arms around Sombra. _Yeah, there’s no turning back now._ Sombra chuckled and returned the hug. “Dad’s gonna kill me, so I have to go now. Thanks again, Sombra!”

Just before she could leave, Sombra grabbed her arm. Hana stared at her curiously, and Sombra gave her a smirk and held up her pointer finger.

“Boop,” she said cheerfully, tapping Hana’s nose. Hana giggled, her face slightly flushed, and Sombra let go. With that, the young girl gave one more smiled raced towards Talon’s entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 그녀의 눈을 봐, 빌어 먹을 (Geunyeoui nun-eul bwa, bil-eo meog-eul) - Look at her eyes, damn it  
> 슈퍼 컴보이 (Syupeo Keomboi) - Super Comboy  
> 젠장. (Jenjang.) - Damn it.  
> 믿을 수 있니? (Mid-eul su issni?) - Can you believe it?  
> 아빠 (appa) - papa  
> 젠장 섹시한 여자 (Jenjang segsihan yeoja) - Damn sexy woman  
> 남한 (Namhan) - South Korea  
> 감사합니다. (Gamsahabnida.) - Thank you.  
> 감사 (Gamsa) - Thanks  
> ...똥. (...ttong.) - Shit.  
> 진심으로? (Jinsim-eulo?) - Seroiusly?  
> 제기랄. (Jegilal.) - Fuck it.  
> 오 씨발! (O ssibai!) - Oh fuck!  
> 정말 미안해 (Jeongmal mianhae) - I'm so sorry
> 
> Sí - yes  
> señor - Mr  
> conejita - 'little rabbit'/'bunny girl' (Google Translate for the latter) (conejo in Spanish is rabbit, and changing the -o suffix to an -ita indicates some more of a feminine pet name)  
> Estamos aquí. - We're here.  
> chica - girl  
> comprende - understand  
> Mierda - Shit  
> Lo siento - Sorry  
> No es problema - No problem  
> ¿Qué sucede? - What's wrong?


	3. Chapter 3

“Where the hell were you?” was the first thing Jack Morrison asked his adopted daughter when she jumped into the passenger seat.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” she replied, leaning into the worn, yet, plush seat. She pulled the seatbelt across her torso. “I got bored waiting for your meeting to end ‘cause it went over so long, and I just started walking around.” He stared at her, and she stared back, working to actively suppress anything to give her away.

The famous Jack Morrison, a former US soldier turned CEO of the private militaristic company Overwatch, was a force to be reckoned with. Honestly, if the stories Hana had heard of him (because he really didn’t want to talk about his time in the army, not that she blamed him), he had training in all forms of military weaponry, espionage, interrogation, and probably way more army things Hana couldn’t even comprehend.

Long story short, he could see right through her, then kick her ass for lying. The best man to be a dad who wasn’t expecting to be a dad.

A heartbeat later, she realised he was still distracted – his blue eyes, normally piercing and _really_ scary, were completely un-focused. Finally, he turned to the road and shifted the car into drive.

“Be careful,” he grunted.

“I know. I’m really sorry.” He glanced over at her and gave her a slight smile. Hana breathed a sigh of relief and returned the smile.

The 1966 Pontiac Laurentian (“Older than me,” Jack had remarked when she asked about the classic car) shuddered as it started up. Jack gave it a good pat on the dark dashboard. Hana surprised herself when she realised how much she liked the car. The navy blue exterior was a bit ruined with small dents and scratches, but it was pretty reliable. She rolled the squeaky window down.

“How was class?” he asked, beginning to cruise through the parking lot. She shrugged.

“It was okay.”

“You sure?” He made a left turn and drove past the spot where Sombra left Hana, but Hana didn’t see her around. “I know it’s only been a few weeks, but-”

“I’m okay, Dad.” Jack gave her a concerned look that she pointedly ignored, attempting to come off as indifferent as possible. Rather, she was shocked at her own sharp tone. Jenjang _, I need to play some games._

“Well... get your homework done,” he said awkwardly. Hana remained silent and turned to stare out the window, her hand unconsciously going to her thick hair. _Homework. Yeah, Dad. I’ll try._ She began twirling the ends around her finger, tightening and loosening the curls, before untangling the strands completely.

“Um...” she began just as awkwardly. She moved to pull the rest of her hair over her shoulder and gently ran her fingers through it. “How... was the meeting with Talon?” she asked, watching him from the corner of her eye. Not the best subject change, but she had to work on a fly. He grunted, and his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

“ _Reaper_ wasn’t even there,” he gritted out with his jaw clenched. Hana winced. _Shit, wrong thing to say._ “It was just Lacroix and some new worker.” _Sombra?_ She nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. “Their demands are outrageous as usual. I refuse to work with them.” He shook his head. “Gabriel, you traitor...” Jack muttered something else, then unexpectedly smacked his steering wheel, jerking the car. Hana jumped with a yelp, and he jumped as well. He turned to her.

“Christ, Hana!” He violently grabbed the steering wheel, almost overcompensating and sending them careening off the road, then pulled off of the street.

 _Ttong! Osesang-e!_ Hana could _feel_ her fucking heartbeat in her ears, a rapid pounding _boom boom boom_.

Geu so-eum-eun mwoya _?_ She heard something heavy, some insistent, something-

Ah. Just her. Panting. Seeing her life flash before her own eyes.

"Joesong haeyo?" Ulineun geoui "jug-eossda", naneun "mianhada"go saeng-gaghani?!

Jack sighed and put the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. ”I’m sorry,” he mumbled, and Hana almost threw her arms up. _“_ Joesong haeyo _”?_ Ulineun geoui _jug-eoseo,_ naneun mianhae _?!_ “I got too worked up.” He sighed deeply. “I’m sorry.”

Hana swallowed her own sigh, the tenseness dripping away in a stream of anxiety sweat ( _ew_ ). _Oh Dad..._ She looked down when she realised her right hand was hurting. She found it clutching the small pocket in the car door, her knuckles turned white.

“It’s okay, Dad,” she finally replied, slowly pulling her hand back. “I know this is really upsetting to you. I’m sorry I asked.” _Ugh._ Between her being completely up-rooted from her life in _Namhan_ to him un-expectedly getting an adopted daughter, they had few conversations that _weren’t_ awkward.

This was the first time Jack almost killed them, though. She knew he got worked up over _Gabriel_ , but geez. Any, if there even _had been_ any, hope she could even vaguely mention Sombra to him was blasted to smithereens.

He reached over and mussed her hair some. “That’s not an excuse for me to lose my temper around you, especially like _that_ , Bunny.” He sighed again. “Once this gets a little more cleared up, I’ll take us out to your favourite Korean place.” Hana instantly perked up and grinned at him.

“No way! Thanks, Dad!” He smiled back at her, then began driving them home again. The rest of the car drive was silent. Hana finally began relaxing fully as their house appeared into view.

It was probably the most American thing she’d ever seen.

Their house was one story and painted white, although the weather damage gave it more of a light grey feel, the colour of darkened clouds a few hours before a storm. The wood was peeling in a few places, mostly under the brick-coloured roof, and the gold handle on the front door had scratches in it, but, otherwise, the place was pretty good. Very average, though. The most prominent part of the little house on the somewhat overgrown green lawn was a battered American flag waving proudly in the breeze. It was one of Jack’s most prized possessions back from his army days.

Once Jack stopped the car, he and Hana stepped out simultaneously. As she walked around past the hood, he frowned.

“Where’s your backpack?” he inquired.

“Uh, in my room,” she replied.

“You… didn’t bring it with you?” His frown deepened. Hana matched his frown. Jack left just before she rushed off to school, but...

“Uhhh… Dad… we talked about this. Today’s just my C++ class. I don’t need a backpack because it’s, you know, all online?” she replied slowly. He blinked and shook his head with a grunt.

“Oh. Oh, right. Sorry.” Hana said nothing, and they stood in an awkward silent as a few seconds dragged by. Jack finally turned and unlocked the house, Hana following slowly. The entrance to their house immediately led to a small kitchen. White tiles, white appliances, white chairs around a small white table… Yep.

“I just stocked up the fridge,” he told her, and she nodded.

“I actually ate when I was waiting for you, but thanks!” she replied, throwing in her typical enthusiasm to lighten the mood. He scratched the back of his head guiltily.

“I’m glad. Sorry again, Bunny. Next time, you can just stay at the offices and wait till I get there. It was probably one helluva pain to get to Talon.” Hana almost snorted. _And miss hanging out with Sombra?_ Sombra was way better than Overwatch.

It wasn’t like she _disliked_ her dad’s co-workers. Seriously. She just never really connected with them, especially not to the level she connected with Sombra.

For one thing, they were all a lot older than her. The youngest person, other than her, was freaking “ _Junkrat_ ”, one of the ’villains-turned-employees’. He and “Roadhog” (and Roadhog is forty-eight years old and basically silent, so that wasn’t going to work) were the bomb experts and demolitionists, which, frankly, freaked Hana out.

For another thing, everyone was always completely and utterly busy. Her dad was a soldier. So, as a CEO? A total slave driver. His most recent “project” was getting Ana Amari, his “old friend, colleague, and business partner” reinstated as his Captain or Executive Chairman or something – whatever the rank right below him was.

And it didn’t help that he was sooo threatened by Talon and wanted to be better than them, and _oh, whatever. Old men fighting over money._

But despite all that, she would stay at Overwatch just because Talon was actually really far. _Well, maybe Sombra can bring me home, but..._ Eh. She’d ask first.

“Okay, that works,” she said, shrugging.

“I know you get kinda bored there.” She stared back, unable to deny anything. “I can ask Trac- er, Lena – to drive you home if I’m not back after an hour and a half.” Hana brightened.

Lena Oxton, the main pilot (for both testing and the very, very, _very_ occasional field pilot when she... uh... was helping out other companies or something? Hana had no idea – she impressed herself with the fact that she even knew who did what at Overwatch), was probably the person Hana was closest to. ‘Tracer’ was energetic, bubbly, and extroverted. Not even close to friends, but Lena seemed to understand Hana the most and actually tried to talk to get to know her.

“That’d be real nice, Dad.” He nodded.

“All right. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

“How should I repay her?” Jack smirked.

“Bunny, she’s _my_ worker.” She raised her eyebrows, and he chuckled. “I’ll buy her lunch.” With that, he ruffled her hair again, then left for his bedroom. Hana watched him go with a wistful gaze before padding off to her room.

Like the rest of the house, her room was white and bare. It was a bed, an extensive computer system (obviously) with consoles, some pictures – one of her family back in _Namhan_ , one of her winning her first national _StarCraft II_ tournament, and a few of her and her best friend Lúcio – and the trophy for that said victory sitting on her desk.

She had a weird conflict of interest regarding her room. On one hand, it was so crappy to look at it. It was boring and looked so _temporary_ – so bare, it was like she was never there and would never stay, which made her feel worse and like she didn’t belong in America. On the other hand, if she personalised it like back home (pink and full of decorations), it might just make her homesick, and it wasn’t like she could just go home and feel better.

Ugh. Fuck.

The moment the door was closed, she slid onto her office chair, slipped on her headphones, got her computer out of sleep mode, and pulled up Twitch, all while pulling her phone out of her pocket and opening Twitter.

‘hey everyone!!! i’m about to stream! whatcha wanna see? let me know~ <3’ she tweeted quickly, setting up her streaming software. By the time she was all ready, there was already a handful of replies.

‘StarCraft as always!’ one read.

‘how about heroes of the storm??’ another read.

‘Stardew Valley?!’

‘portal!!!’

‘please play Borderlands! any of them is fine!’

She sighed. Thankfully, as the tweets rolled in, most of them looked like they wanted her to just stick with classic _StarCraft II_. She’d played it for so long, the game feels like second nature to her. She could play it in her sleep, which was good because she honestly wasn’t even in the mood for gaming. It just gave her an outlet to concentrate on – she had ( _wanted_ ) to appease her fans for money ( _because she loves them_ ), and making them happy meant she wasn’t think about school or having no friends or Sombra-

 _Jenjang_ , that was going to be a recurring them, wasn’t it?

Almost robotically, opened the game over Twitch and waited for about two seconds before fans began pouring in. Swallowing, she turned on her face cam and gave everyone a huge smile.

“Hey guys! Thanks for coming again! You’re all so great.” Ignoring the stream of messages, she continued. “Let’s just get right to it, okay?” She began searching for a game and, once it began, she immediately threw herself into a narration of her tactics.

 _Keep talking. The game. Just watch the game._ Minerals. Town hall. Check resources. ‘You must construct additional Pylons!’ Rinse and repeat and rinse and repeat aaand…

Done. She leaned back and dropped her intense expression. “And there it is! GG! Whatcha guys think?”

 _Nothing special_. ‘great as always!’

 _Nothing new._ ‘d.va your so great i always learn so much from you!!!’

 _Still the same old same old._ ‘GG! Hell yeah!’ Still, Hana, or, rather, D.Va, smiled genuinely at the kind comments. No matter what, she always felt happy knowing she could inspire good-hearted newbies.

‘im gonna donate more now aw yeah‘

‘hey, can you link the patron or paypal or whatever the heck dva uses?’ She laughed somewhat facetiously and leaned forward again.

“Holy crap, you guys are all so supportive! My Patreon is just D.Va, and a Paypal link is on my Twitter!” She clicked out of PvP. “I’m gonna do something different! Let’s play some PvE story!”

And so it went on for one hour, two hours, three hours. She only stopped to grab some snacks and more Mountain Dew. “No, it’s not product placement! I swear, you guys ask me every time!” She giggled, somewhat hollowly.

She stopped at 4:14 AM. Her class began at 9:00 AM.

“Wow, that was a long stream!” Eh. “Well, okay, not _that_ long,” she amended upon seeing the comments. “I got home late. But I gotta wake up at 7:30 AM, so I’m going to have to end it now!” Concerned fans began to implore she go to bed and hoped she had a good night’s sleep “ Thanks again, guys! I love you all! Good night, and I’ll catch you guys tomorrow!” Quickly, she turned the camera off, then logged out Twitch, then closed her game. Sighing, she sat back in her chair, unmoving as her excited façade slipped away.

 _Even gaming is getting tiring for me..._ She almost blindly played, setting up her resources, eventually steamrolling her opponents once she gained momentum. It was difficult to enjoy a game when you’ve been number one for three years and mastered basically every kind of combat literally years ago, even though both Hana and D.Va absolutely loved winning. It was awful. It made her sick to her stomach. When did her number one hobby become... a chore?

She knew. It was the moment when she moved from _Busan_ , when she realised she was probably never going to see her parents again because of that terrorist attack. Moving in with her ( _adopted_ ) dad just solidified everything.

Holy crap, when did she get so dramatic and broody? _Ugh. Okay, whatever. Time for bed._ She’d just do the homework in the morn-

 _Actually_ , she decided, _I’ll just get it over with now_. With another sip of her Mountain Dew, she cracked her fingers and pulled up Python, then the assignment. ‘Write a code...’ Bah. She put her headphones on again and began blasting some nonsense K-Pop song. After a pause, she changed it to some banal English song.

Thirty minutes later, she jumped in her seat. Jenjang _! Sombra!_ Sombra asked her to text her, and she totally _forgot_.

“ _Jenjang_ , _jenjang_!” she muttered to herself, whipping her phone out. ‘Sombra!!! This is Hana! Omg I’m so sorry I totally forgot to text you! I got caught up in my stream ahhh I’m so so sorry! Let’s hang out again pls definitely!” She sent the message, whining lowly, and turned back to her work.

Fifteen minutes, after finishing probably three quarters of the lab, her phone buzzed. Glancing down, she saw Sombra actually replied. ‘ _Chica_ , it’s 5 in the morning. Do you have class at 7 or something?’ Hana flushed. Ttong _, did I wake her up?!_

‘Omg omg did I wake you up??’ she sent back frantically.

‘No, I wake up at 5 for work. Now what about you?’ _Oh crap._ ‘Ummm’. She could have lied, but the guilt weighed her down. ‘No um I just have hw to do’.

‘Homework? Sounds like a lot if you have to wake up at five to do it. I’ll leave you alone,’ the next message read. Hana flushed harder to the point where she could actually feel the heat in her cheeks.

‘Uhhh no not quite um I kind of didn’t go to bed,’ she replied sheepishly. Turning back to the assignment, she began rapidly writing out her code, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she switched back and forth to the lecture notes. _Up, down, up, down, left, right, left right, B, A, start, combo_ , she thought sarcastically. Once she had but a few lines of code left, the next message arrived.

‘What?! Really? What were you doing, ¿ _chica_? It’s not good to be up this late.’ Hana groaned. _Not again._ Coupled with imagining her dad finding out and his echo of ‘do your homework’, the guilt was almost overwhelming, and Hana swallowed. Her fingers hesitated over her phone’s keyboard.

‘Um... um ok pls don’t be mad but I was streaming all night. I know that sounds bad but I just really needed to. Like I can’t explain it especially over text but I really just had to do it. Pls don’t be mad. I’m almost done I’m gonna go to bed soon.’ Sucking in a breath, she sent the message, then slammed the phone facedown. _Just gotta finish this and throw myself into bed. I can do it._

True to her own word, she managed to finish in the next five minutes. Pushing herself from her computer, she grabbed her phone and looked at the time. 5:30 AM. So she’d get two hours of sleep. Well, nothing some coffee and 5-Hour Energy and _maybe_ more Mountain Dew wouldn’t fix. The next text arrived as Hana made her way to her bed.

‘I’m not your parent, but I’m a little concerned. I won’t bring it up next time we see each other if you don’t want me do, though. Just try to get some sleep, ¿ _conejita_?‘ Hana sighed again.

‘I will I promise I’m getting into bed right now. Thx for being so concerned though it means a lot to me and I’m sorry. I got everything done though’.

‘Good. Good “night”, _conejita_.’ Sighing another god damn time, Hana put her phone on her bedside table, laid down, and yanked the covers over her head to block out the light already streaming through her window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 똥! 오 세상에! (Ttong! O sesang-e!) - Shit! Oh my fucking god!  
> 그 소리는 도대체 뭐야? (Geu solineun dodaeche mwoya?) - What the hell is that sound?  
> 죄송 해요? 우리는 거의 죽어서 미안해?! ("Joesong haeyo"? Ulineun geoui jug-eoseo "mianhae"?!)  
> 남한 (Namhan) - South Korea  
> 젠장. (Jenjang.) - God damn it.  
> 젠장! (Jenjang!) - Fuck!  
> 젠장, 젠장! (Jenjang, jenjang!) - Fuck, fuck, fuck!
> 
> Chica - Girl  
> Conejita - 'little rabbit'/'bunny girl' (Google Translate for the latter) (conejo in Spanish is rabbit, and changing the -o suffix to an -ita indicates some more of a feminine pet name)


	4. Chapter 4

Heart pounding. Thoughts racing. Leg obnoxiously bouncing and pants repeatedly scratching against the side of the desk. Eyes drooping. Head bobbing. Mind numbing from what was quite possibly the worst lecture in all of history.

Hana thought she was going to die.

 _The 5-Hour Energy was a terrible idea_ , she bemoaned. Her leg suddenly surged especially hard, leading her to smacking her knee against the bottom of her desk. _Ow!_ Groaning softly, she covered her face with her hands. Of course, it didn’t help that she was running on literally nothing – she forgot to even grab a granola bar before she literally sprinted out the door Ugh. Even the inordinate amount of caffeine running through her veins couldn’t offset her feeling like total shit.

Yawning again, she felt her head dipping again, then jerked herself asleep. The only thing keeping her from just ditching or taking a nice nap was the image of her dad being disappointed in her-

(again?)

She texted Sombra when she woke up to inform the older woman that she slept well (despite it being two freaking hours) and that she got ready and got to class on time. Sombra had replied with, ‘I’m very glad to hear that. Normally, I’d text you during your class because I don’t care if I’m texting someone during work or school, but today is meeting hell day, so I’ll be busy. _Suerte_ , my sleep-deprived _conejita_.’ Then, ‘Let’s hang out tomorrow, maybe, or the next day.’ Hana had sighed again.

_Ugh. I feel like such a high schooler._

As she was about to almost fall asleep again, her phone buzzed, making her jump. A few people gave her stares, and she smiled sheepishly as she grabbed it. The text wasn’t from Sombra or her father, however. Instead, it was Lúcio. Hana perked up.

Lúcio Correia dos Santos, the famous DJ known for his political outspokenness. The man didn’t just write incredible music; he legitimately inspired political change and equality for all. Honestly, he was pretty amazing, and Hana definitely looked up to him, both loving his music and his influence on the world. Sometimes, she wished she also inspired that kind of change, but that was a lot of responsibility. Gaming was so much easier.

Hana   quickly unlocked her phone and pulled up his text. ‘Hey dvaaa! Guess what?!?! I’m in town on tour! We gotta hang out! Are you free today?!?!’ Hana smiled at his enthusiasm and matched it with her own text.

‘Omg lucio heck yeah! Let’s go to the usual cafe after my class is done! I got half an hour left!’

‘Heck yea! Sounds good! I’ll meet you there hana!’ Smiling, she set her phone down. How did she miss that he was in town? Tour dates must have slipped by her between gaming and school. She made a mental note to ask him for more dates to put into her calendar ahead of time. _Aw man, I’m so excited to see him!_

The excitement, unfortunately, made her class feel slower. _How the hell do you make a_ coding class _so damn boring?_ Hana grumbled, her mood instantly flipped after remembering her professor was terrible. Java was so easy, but the class managed obscure the fun of programming behind a multitude of tedious assignments and banal busywork. Ugh. Half an hour crawled by with broken arms.

The moment the professor began suggesting the class was wrapping up, she, with ninety per cent of the rest of the class, began shoving all her supplies into her backpack. Homework was due on Wednesday, next lecture would be about- oh whatever, she could look at the slides online. Blah, blah, blah, aaand…

Without a second thought, she stood with her backpack and rushed out the door, trailed by a few others. She hurried down the stairs, smiling the entire time. Excitedly, she unlocked her bike and hopped on without a second thought. By both heard and muscle memory, she turned her pink bicycle in the direction of the café and began pedalling without a second thought.

Less than ten minutes later, she was walking through the door, a light chime indicating her presence. Seated beside a window was a dark-skinned man with thick dreadlocks tied by a lime green band. He wore a sleeveless shirt as neon as the hair tie, baggy blue pants, and black sneakers with teal LED lights around tracing the outline of the sole. Smiling widely, she walked over and waved. Lúcio looked up, and a grin stretched over his face.

“Hey Lúcio!” The two hadn’t originally met in any spectacular way – superstars just tend to meet other superstars. She had games, he had music. He was probably the closest thing to a friend she has. It was just kind of difficult to be the best friend when you’re on tour with because of your new platinum EP.

Regardless, Lúcio immediately jumped up out of his seat upon realising who was standing over him. “Hana!” They hugged tightly before Lúcio held her at arms’ length. “It’s been way too long! I watch your streams when I can, but it’s sooo hard in a van!” Hana laughed and sat down with him at a small table.

“It’s cool, I totally get it! But I’m always listening to your music when I feel down. It’s such a good pick-me-up.” Lúcio gasped, putting his hands over his heart.

“Hana Song, I am so flattered. You’re just the sweetest. Okay, that settles it – I’m going to watch your stream every day for the next... week? Two weeks? Depends on how much you stream!”

“Every night! And if you put in a game request, you get first dibs.” He waved her off.

“Nah, you know I don’t know many titles. Thanks though! Man, can you imagine what’ll happen when people realise I’m watching the stream?” Hana giggled.

“They probably won’t even pay attention to me.” He looked aghast.

“Hell no! We’ll have the best stream ever! Actually, if I can get a few hours, I can be there _in person_. Dude, we can actually make it a charity stream! I have a few ideas...” Smiling, Hana listened, occasionally nodding and throwing in her own excited support.

“Oh, aaand I got free tickets to watch Zarya compete in action!” Aleksandra ‘Zarya’ Zaryanova, the “strongest woman in ze vorld”, was one of the top national weight lifters. Her record was 512 _kg_. Hana gaped at him.

“Wow, really?! That’s so cool. I’ll definitely-” Ooh! Hang ooon... “Actually, Lúcio, not to be a bad friend, but... do you mind if I give the ticket to someone else?” He cocked his head.

“Whatcha mean, Hana?” She smirked.

“I just know someone at Dad’s work who... really likes Zarya.”

“Oh, really? Are they an athlete too?”

“Haha, no. She’s just a huuuge fan of Zarya. I think she’s got a little crush...” She trailed off suggestively, and Lúcio made an ‘o’ with his mouth.

“I totally support that! Yeah, here!” He stood up to dig around his large pants until he procured a ticket. It was simple and white with ‘Aleksandra Zaryanova vs. Sophia Loren’ stamped on the front. Hana had no idea who Sophia Loren was, and she doubted Mei would either, but whatever. Lúcio sat down and took a sip of his hot chocolate.

“Man, I’m totally getting ahead of myself. Tell me how you’re doing!” he interrupted his former train of thought, leaning forward on his palms. Hana forced herself to give a smile, though even she could feel how small and fake it was.

“Oh, well, you know. I’m still in school. Dad has been really good taking care of me and stuff...” Lúcio cocked his head again.

“You sound off,” he replied with a softer voice. “You know, even though I’m not, you know, here all the time, you can still talk to me if you’re not feeling okay.” Hana smiled a little more genuinely. Lúcio was such a good friend – whenever Hana seemed off, he would be able to read her like a book, picking out details between the lines. Thought theoretically it seemed annoying and almost like an invasion of privacy, she welcomed his thoughtful comments.

“Thanks, Lúcio.” She took a sip of her coffee and took a deep breath. _Let’s just give this a try._ “Um... Actually, I do kind of have something to tell you. I need advice.” Lúcio perked up. “I... met someone.”

“Ooh! Seriously?! Who’s the lucky fella?!” Hana offered a small smiled again.

“Um... well, she-”

“She?!” Lúcio interrupted. “When did that happen?!” A second later, his eyes because saucers, and he slapped his hands over his open mouth. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry; that was so mean of me! Hana, no matter who you like, I’ll love you, and I’ll stick with you!” Hana’s smile grew some.

“Thanks Lúcio. I know you wouldn’t abandon me over something like that.” Lúcio nodded fervently, and she picked up where she left off. “I don’t really know. It wasn’t even a big thing, you know? I just... There are, you know, sparks between us, and we have lots of chemistry, and all that stuff. I just really like her, and she’s totally into me.” He raised a good point, thought. When _did_ she suddenly start liking girls?

Well, actually, she never really liked anyone before. Like... anyone. Sure, some of the people (both boys and girls, actually – huh. She had forgotten about the, like, two times she went on a date with a girl) were nice and... yeah, that's about it. They weren't super interesting to her, even though, objectively, they were probably kinda maybe interesting.

Her last date dragged her to some overly fancy restaurant she didn’t care about, then revealed himself to be a total egomaniac and a douchebag trying to show off his money ( _more like his daddy’s money_ ), and she totally didn’t escape by secretly and incessantly calling his phone with her ID hidden until he literally _had_ to leave to take the ‘call’, and she just booked it the moment he was out of sight.

Yeah, that’s about how much she liked people.

So liking girls wasn’t such a big deal. The bigger deal was what made Sombra so different? Something gross and romantic? Was there something Hana was feeling about her that she couldn’t put her finger on? Feelings were complicated.

When she remembered she was sitting in a quaint coffee shop with a sweet, humble, well-known and influential music DJ ( _yeah, way better. This is why I don’t date_ ), she realised Lúcio was nodding. “Yeah, sometimes stuff like that just hits you, you know? But I’m glad she seems to like you too.” He grinned, then leaned forward. “So what’s wrong?” A, jenjang _._

“Well, uh...” Hana took a sip (more like a gulp because she definitely was drinking for at least five seconds) from her drink. “She works for Talon.” Lúcio gasped.

“Whoa, no way! How did you meet her?!”

“I was waiting for Dad to get out of a meeting with Talon. But, uh, someone sent me... an inappropriate photo.” Lúcio frowned. “So I was kind of pissed off about that, but then I bumped into her – literally; I knocked her down – ‘cause, like, I was pacing, and then she just offered to take me to dinner ’cause... uh... I dunno.”

“Wait, you went to get food with a total stranger? Wait, someone sent you... a dick pic? Wait, you knocked her down?!” Hana flushed again. She was becoming annoyed at herself for doing that so often lately.

“One at a time,” she grumbled. He nodded. “Yes. It was stupid, but, uh... she didn’t kill me?” He gave her a disapproving look. “Yes, someone sent me a dick pic. I’ll figure that out.” He scowled. “Yes, I knocked her down. It was an accident!” He rolled his eyes.

“Hana-”

“Yeah, she could be a total pervert or something, but... I don’t think so?” Hana groaned, putting her head on the table. “I’m in way too deep. What do I do? Do I stop? Do I just go for it and try, you know, being her friend?”

“‘Friend’?” he muttered, and Hana looked up to shoot him a glare. “Hana. I love you. But it’s literally been a day. What do you mean you ‘in too deep’?” She inhaled deeply.

“We really clicked. It was so easy to talk to her. I even went on one of my gaming rants! No-” she interrupted, his mouth open to inevitably tell her how she always rants about shitty gamers – “I mean the good ones. Like, where I gush. About the _game_.” He paused, then closed his mouth and offered her a shrug.

Dang. That was a good sign.

“She listens to me, and she definitely not a gamer,” she pressed. “And she didn’t totally laugh at me or judge me. She was like, ‘you’re really dedicated to games, it’s cool’, and I was like, ‘uh, thanks, can we talk about you instead?’.” Lúcio snorted.

“Smooth one, Juliet.” Hana scowled. “Okay, well, I think this is totally a bad idea, and you should stop this and not do this. Knowing you, you totally won’t listen to me and do it anyway, charging headfirst.”

“Okay, look-”

“Oh, we totally both know it’s true,” he retorted, and Hana fell silent. _Damn it, he’s right._ “So I’ll just say to be careful. Like...” He suddenly seemed more serious. “If she makes you this happy now, how would you feel if it turned out to be... a lie or something?”

Jenjang _._ If it turned out to be a lie, she’d be crushed and deceived and probably the biggest idiot ever to get so invested in a stranger and have it end up being worthless. She took a shaky breath and reached for her drink with a trembling hand. Lúcio frowned and put his hand over hers, making her jolt and look up at him.

“Hana. It’ll be okay. I’m sorry if I freaked you out. You just really need to know before you two are... actually friends. It’s the same for everyone – I’d say it even if she wasn’t working for Talon and stuff.” She nodded wordlessly, focusing on controlling her breathing. _Holy fuck, what’s going on?_ Lúcio squeezed her hand again, and she felt herself returning to normal.

“But there’s also your dad,” Lúcio continued. “Like, even if she’s not a creepy murderer or rapist, you _know_ how your dad feels about Talon, and if you gotta lie to him...” He paused. “I’m guessing her doesn’t know?” She sucked in her last calming breath and shook her head.

“No, he doesn’t. And you’re right. He’d… be mad.” Actually, he’d be beyond furious. In fact, he’d probably be the scariest she’d ever see him, something she never wanted to see.

“Tell me about her,” Lúcio suddenly asked, backing off. Hana gulped and took a swig of her drink.

“Um, well, her name is Sombra-”

“Sombra?” Lúcio interrupted. “That’s definitely not her real name.” Hana gave him a confused look.

“How can you te-”

“‘Sombra’ means ‘shadow’ in Spanish. No way any parent is gonna name their kid that. What’s her last name?”

“Uh... she didn’t tell me, and I didn’t ask.”

“Hana!” She whined. “Okay, I take it back. Don’t do this!” Hana sighed, and Lúcio followed suit, taking another sip from his hot chocolate. When he set it down, he continued his interrogation. “What does she do at Talon?”

“She’s a programmer. She writes financial programs and... stuff that is definitely classified, like Dad’s work.“ Lúcio hummed, and Hana decided it was best _not_ to tell him she was a hacker.

“Okaaay... What else do you know about her?“

“Not too much... She’s Mexican and moved here when she started working for Talon. She didn’t really wanna talk about it, though. Kinda like how I don’t like talking about _Busan_.” Lúcio’s face took on a solemn expression, and he nodded slowly in understanding.

“That I get.” He paused and put his hand over hers. “I’m still totally worried for you. At least learn more about her, even if it’s little things. Let me know if you’re comfortable, okay? I just wanna hear about you two, as your friend, okay?”

“As my best friend,” Hana gently correct, and they exchanged warm smiles. “But I can do that. Maybe if she and I actually become friends and you’re in town or we’re where you are... you can meet her?”

“I’d like that. But, on another note, do you want to come to my concert tonight? I’d love to have you there again.” Hana considered the proposition. On one hand, Sombra said she should get sleep (and she should. Definitely), but, on the other hand, she rarely got a chance to see Lúcio, and she absolutely adored his music.

“Yeah, I’ll totally be there,” she replied firmly, beaming again. He suddenly looked elated, matching her expression.

“Okay! Just tell them your name, and they’ll know you’re with me! I can’t wait! Let’s just have the best time, okay?” Hana laughed and agreed, and their conversation continued with light topics.

 _But he’s right_ , Hana acquiesced as she laughed at one of Lúcio’s silly jokes. _What_ do _I know about her?_ The question weighed heavily on her mind, even when she and Lúcio finally stood up, cleaned off their table, shared one last hug and parted ways. _What do I know about Sombra? Who is she?_

_Will I be disappointed if I learn more about her?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 아, 젠장. (A, jenjang.) - Ah, fuck.  
> 젠장! (Jenjang!) - Fuck!
> 
> Suerte - good luck  
> conejita - 'little rabbit'/'bunny girl' (Google Translate for the latter) (conejo in Spanish is rabbit, and changing the -o suffix to an -ita indicates some more of a feminine pet name)


End file.
